Rodgers ready for Rangers

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted that it will not matter if his side lose to bitter rivals Rangers on New Year's Eve as they have had such a brilliant start to the season.

The Scottish champions have a 16-point lead at the top of the league table after dropping just two points so far this campaign.

The Bhoys have won 14 on-the-spin and are unbeaten in 22 domestic home matches in 2016 and the former Liverpool and Swansea boss believes those facts take the pressure off his side ahead of Saturday's latest Old Firm clash.

"It will be a battle," he said. "There is no doubt about that. It will be a tough game.

"There is huge pressure on them to get the result at home. For us, we have played in big games under pressure this season and dealt well with it, stayed calm and got the result.

"We know it will be tough and it's a game we are looking forward to.

"It finishes off a remarkable first half of the season for us. And we aim to go there and win.

"For us, it doesn't matter what the result is on Saturday.

"We have had a fantastic start to the season and irrespective of the result, we will be happy with our work.

"We will go away, rest and recover and come back even better for the second half of the season. But we are greedy.

"We want to win every game and that's the attitude at the weekend.

"The stats are good. It's [the unbeaten domestic home run in 2016] a great credit to [previous manager] Ronny and the team before.

"They were here for the first six months of the year and can be proud of their work.

"But the players have taken the opportunity to be better and improve since I came in here.

"They amaze me in their mentality and are very much worthy of being 16 points clear at the top.

"It's a remarkable feat of hard work, concentration, focus and quality.

"They are demonstrating that in every game and every week."

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